Clips, Blips and Loops, Geneva

For Clips, Blips and Loops #2, we are inviting producers, musicians and DJs to contribute to the collection of free source tools available here. This is an extension of a project developed in Stockholm, November 2007. At the start of 2008 all of the tools will be gathered together to produce a CD that will be freely distributed at a public performance at an event in Geneva on 13th March.

Who Makes And Owns Your Work, Stockholm

In an attempt to cross the boundaries of idea and practice, Iaspis and Konstfack initiated a project on production, distribution and ownership of cultural matter and artistic knowledge starting in December 2006. On 17th November 2007 the project will open itself up by letting the gathered knowledge be combined with that of invited guests, in an event aiming at an in-depth look on the making and owning of contemporary culture.

Free-to-air (Cornerhouse, Manchester)

From 15-25th July 2007 Open Music Archive will be resident at Cornerhouse, Manchester's international centre for contemporary arts.

For two weeks Eileen Simpson & Ben White will be producing a series of live events and programmes for a temporary FM radio station broadcasting across Manchester. (106.5FM artradio.fm)

We’re inviting bands and musicians to respond to the rare out-of-copyright folk, blues, and jazz from the Open Music Archive; to work with forgotten lyrics, chords, melodies and beats, and to make new cover versions of forgotten tracks.

For two weeks the gallery will host live plugged and unplugged performances and one-off broadcasts by Manchester’s finest upcoming and established bands and musicians.

If Elsewhere - Scatter Projects

Simpson & White will present a DJ set featuring out-of-copyright material from the archive, live electronic remixes, and a sneak preview of cover versions of out-of-copyright blues, folk, music hall and jazz recorded by a range bands for their upcoming project Free-to-air – part of ARTRADIO at Cornerhouse, Manchester in July '07.

British Art Show Symposium Bristol - Live Event

Outdoor screening of Broadcast Times, Screen Tests, and Dragline with live musical accompaniment by Ben White. The music, which has been sourced from out-of-copyright early 20th Century 78rpm records will be manipulated in real-time using samplers and DJ turntables.

Futuresonic 2006

Leverage, a new project for Futuresonic 2006, centres around the creation of copyleft licensed 12 inch vinyl records containing a range of samples, beats and extracts from the archive in a format referencing scratch tools, breaks compilations and battle records. Read more . . .

Sample Leverage at Instrument, an exhibition of artist-made instruments, noise-generators, audio-visual manipulators, and head twisters by sound artists and noise-makers.20-29 July at 1830 Warehouse, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester

Friday 21 July 11am
Eileen Simpson & Ben White talk about Leverage and the Open Music Archive project.1830 Warehouse, Museum of Science and Industry, ManchesterMore info

Futuresonic 2006 runs from 20 - 22nd July at various venues around Manchester

The DVD includes three new films - edited from archive film material, with a soundtrack made from out-of-copyright records - along with the original material and source files. The material is released under a Creative Commons license, enabling anyone to use and re-use Screen Tests for future creative exchange.

Screen Tests 1/4 Screen Tests
The film unfolds as a series of Andy Warhol-like screen tests, slowly revealing the location and the occupation of those before the camera - students and models from the Manchester School of Art.

Screen Tests 3/4 Broadcast Times: The Birth of Westward
As the exhibition train leaves the platform, we are taken on a documentary journey of “a happy hunting ground for tycoons” the birth of commercial television broadcasting.

Screen Tests 4/4
The Northern Region Film and Television Archive, based in Newcastle did not respond to several attempts at contact, eventually we spoke over the telephone and they declined any involvement.

Open Music Archive presents an Evening of Free Music and Films

British Art Show 6, Manchester (28th Jan -2nd April 2006)

We were invited by artists Neil Cummings & Marysia Lewandowska to collaborate on Screen Tests for the British Art Show 6 in Manchester. Screen Tests is a film composed entirely of material found and released from the North West Film Archive. The ten minute film is accompanied by a sound track made from out-of-copyright recordings. These source recordings are available in the Open Music Archive to download:

OMA @ Open Congress, Tate Britain

Open Music Archive presented at Open Congress (Tate Britain 7th-8th October 2005)

Open Congress was Inspired by Free Software: software that challenges conventional practices of authorship, ownership and distribution. The innovative congress explored these implications for art, visual culture and cultural production in general.

For Open Congress, Open Music Archive presented a DJ set of music made entirely of samples of out-of-copyright music recordings, mainly sourced from 1920s 78rpm records. An accompanying slideshow uncovered the process of tracking this material.